accelerating his feud with the parents of a muslim-american soldier killed in iraq. army captain khan back in 2004 as our tom brokaw reported. >> captain khan of bristol, virginia, taught swimming to handicapped children while at the university of virginia. he was due to return home last month, but his iraq tour was extended. he died on june 8th. captain khan was 27 years old. >> khan's parents firing back this morning against donald trump, saying donald trump lacks the empathy and character to be president. >> this candidate amazes me in his ignorance. he can get up and malign the entire nation. the vengeance, the communities, the minorities, the judges and yet a private citizen in this political process, in his

candidacy for the stewardship of this country. i cannot say what i feel. >> trump responding to that interview, tweeting that the family continues to viciously attack him. of course, this dust-up again after that speech at the dnc last week,ca zero karn said trump had sacrificed nothing and no one. here is how trump is hitting back on that. >> what sacrifice have you made for your country? >> i think i've made a lot of sacrifices, i've worked very, very hard, created thousands and is thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs. built great structures. i've done -- i've had tremendous success. i think those are -- >> reporter: you think those are sacrifices? >> oh, sure, i think they're sacrifices. when i can employ thousands and thousands of people, take care of their education, take care of so many things, in military. i was very responsible, along with a group of people for getting the vietnam memorial built in downtown manhattan, which to this day people thank me for.

>> here with me now to break this down, kelly o'donnell, covering the trump campaign and alex sites wald. great to see you both after a long stretch. kelly, you have been trofcoveri the trump campaign. saying this is the moment that is really going to hurt trump. we saw that with mccain and the judge. judge corial. put this into context for us. >> i think we have all learned that trump has an ability to withstand whatever pressure comes from these things. perhaps that will happen again. what stands out here is you're talking about private citizens who lost their son, who have the right of anyone to argue their political case. now they inserted themselves into politics by being at the convention. but there is really a loud backlash from republicans to say, even though they place themselves at the democratic national convention, their sacrifice is so profound and so

sacred, leave them alone. and i think that's different. if you go after a john mccain, who is a public figure. even a federal judge, who is employed by the federal government, who is we're talking about his ethnicity, not his child. and not to put these on a scale. but there is a difference. and to lose a child is something that most people would never, ever criticize about. and trump can't seem to resist the impulse. >> let me is ask you and follow up about what you say this backlash from republicans -- you have the khan family calling on the republican leaders to denounce this to bring back and take back their endorsement of donald trump. they haven't done that, but you do have paul ryan, mitch mcconnell, who have come out in support of the khan family. how difficult of a position are republican leaders in right now? >> it is very difficult. and extends to some of the top senate candidates who are republicans as well today. we heard from john mccain who comes at this both as a former nominee, as a military man himself years in the navy.

he's the father of two who are in the service, his daughter-in-law is in the service. it is a case where they are saying he's the nominee of the party, that process is what it is. he is the candidate. but they can try to shape his behavior or try to at least say to republican voters, this is not the party. and they're doing that. it's not an easy place for them to be. they would much prefer that he comport himself in a different way. but if he's not going to do that, these republicans are coming forward to say, this isn't okay. >> yeah. and alex, the clinton campaign sees an opening here. of i want to play her response over the weekend and get your reaction on the other side. >> he has -- >> what's your name? >> -- throughout the course of his campaign consistently insulted and demeaned, individuals, groups of americans, people around the world. and one doesn't know where the bottom is.

it's hard to imagine anyone who has ever run to be president of the united states saying any of what he said and the accumulation of it all is just beyond my comprehension. >> so secretary clinton wasting no time responding. but does she run the risk of overpoliticizing this if she starts to focus on it too much? >> right. i mean, as kelly was saying, this is not a public figure, khazir khan. this is a private family. that said, i think she has the benefit in letting khazir khan speak for himself. mccain for political reasons, the judge being a judge. khazir khan has been out there, very arrest i can lot and forceful in speck on his own behalf. what the clinton campaign can do is encourage questions of all these other republicans. do you stand up to trump. no matter what the answer is, it's a victory for them. if it the republicans distance themselves from trump, they can

say look, his own people are uning away from him. if and if they stick to trump they can say the entire republican party is collapsing. so they find benefit either way. >> let's look at this new poll. this controversy started at the dnc. we're getting our first glimpse of post dnc and convention and polling secretary, she leads donald trump by about seven points. what is the clinton campaign saying? >> they are trying to, you know, keep these individual bumps in the polls kind of in context and keep an eye on november. but this is the beginning of when polls really start to matter on the national scale. where after the convention, finally getting to a point of kind of equilibrium where we can finally assess, this is a benchmark we should be weighing all future polls against. americans are actually beginning to tune in really for the first time, even though we have been all covering this for a long time. still, again, you've got to keep an eye on the state polls more than the national polls. >> and kelly, very quickly, is the trump campaign very jittery

when they look at these numbers? >> i think they are concerned, because they thought there would be a bounce for them, and obviously hillary clinton's convention had a lot of high points and so she is enjoying that now. i think that it will be another news cycle, and trump will find another way to throw a punch. we have seen him sort of backtrack on some of these critical things in the past, saying, okay, john mccain is a hero, and oh, i'm sorry, people misinterpreted the comments about judge curial. i'm interested to watch how he handles this wave of criticism and if he backs off at all. >> all right. we know you will be watching and waiting. kel kelly o'donnell. great to see you both. and i want to now bring in sam clovis, national co chair for the trump campaign. thank you for being here this morning. really appreciate it. >> you bet. great to be on with you. >> i want to start right there with this discussion with the khans. you are retired from the air force. you also have a son who is in the air force. i just want to get your personal

reaction to this controversy, and to the fact that republicans right now, some are saying that donald trump owes the khan family an apology. does he? >> well, i think there is a larger issue here and i've talked about this often over the past several days. and if you will indulge me just a moment here. i think one of the things -- i don't think anybody really thought about the consequences of a family and lord knows, this is one of the most difficult issues. i know my own circumstances. i'm the son of a veteran, the brother of a veteran, the father of a veteran, a veteran myself. and i have had to go knock on that door and tell loved ones that their family members are not coming home. and there is nothing more difficult. it weighs on your heart more than that. and so i think that the whole issue of the empathy and the notion of a family grieving and understanding, i think we all get that. i think the circumstances happen when you go on to the stage and you identify the individual who

lost his life and service to this nation and you put a modifier in front of american or after american soldier. we don't identify ourselves that way when we put on the uniform. we are american fighting men and women. we are not american muslims. we're not african-american soldiers. we're not hispanic-american soldiers. we are american soldiers. and i think this is really what -- and i don't think anybody thought this through on the democratic side and i really don't think anybody really understood that this notion that you really put yourself in a very vulnerable position when you politicize something that is so very private and so very -- so very sympathetic. >> sam, i think that that -- you raise a valid point. i think that's worthy of debate. but i want to ask you about donald trump's actions and words. does he owe the khan family an

apology. he is running for president here, they are not. >> i work in the campaign, and i think mr. trump has clearly had had the calculation here that he is fighting back. this is normal for this. i think that a lot of the turmoil you bring up -- and i'm not trying to downplay it, i think is what happens as a lot of this -- as the dustup we see inside the beltway or inside the new york media circles. i think what really matters is what the american people think. and i think that's a long ways from being resolved. and i do think it's interesting you brought up the polls with your previous guest there. and i think it's very significant point that the polls are going to start mattering. but not really as much as when we get to labor day and we start to get into that final sprint to the end there. because i think what we're seeing here -- this is as normal as the sun coming up as the bump after each convention and this will sort itself out. and i think we really have to wait and see how the voters react to all of this down the

stretch. >> there's a broader point here, though, sam. which is that trump's critics are saying, you do not take on military families, gold star families. this is something that former president george w. bush would stay above fray. president obama. that's how a leader responds to that type of criticism. that you're going to get criticized, right, if you're a leader. but if you're really understanding -- the office of the presidency, you decide to stay above it, you thank the family for their service, and their sacrifice, and you move on. so to the critics' point, is this conduct unbecoming of a leader, of a potential president? >> i think the conduct that's unbecoming is leaving americans behind in veteran combat. and we already have -- we have -- >> but on the point about mr. trump. i understand you want to make a broader point here. mr. trump. >> the broader point is who do i trust to be commander in chief. and all things being equal, i

trust donald trump to be commander in chief because i know he would never leave me behind. >> all right. i want to switch topics and play you an exchange that mr. trump had over the weekend about the situation between russia and crime i can crimea. >> they took away the lethal weapons for ukraine to defend themselves. why is that a good idea? >> i have my own ideas. he's not going into ukraine, okay? just so you understand. he's not going to go into ukraine, all right? you can mark it down, you can put it down, you can take it -- >> he's already there, isn't he? >> well, he's there in a certain way. but i'm not there. you have obama there, and frankly, that whole part of the world is a mess under obama. with all the strength you're talking about and all of the power of nato and all of this. in the meantime, he takes crimea, he's sort of -- >> but you said you might recognize that. >> i'm going to take a look at it, but the people from crimea, from what i've heard, would rather be with russia than where

they were. >> sam, should voters be concerned that mr. trump seems to not understand the geopolitical situation between russia and crimea, that he fumbled that answer, essentially? >> i think, you know, i've run for office and i would -- the phenomena i thought of when i was listening to the interview, mr. trump was thinking about something else and he answered the question when he was thinking about something else. and i'm not trying to offer an excuse. but i will say, this is the -- this is -- the circumstance sometimes that that -- that happens. i think what was really at the heart of this -- >> he was thinking about something else? is that's interesting. that's the first thing i've heard that. >> let me finish this, please. the notion here is that we do not understand the consequences of what's going on. so rather than making a rash statement, or a statement that would put us in a position of where we would probably have to sit there and walk it back at some point i think is much better to say that we're going

to look at the circumstances, find out what the ground truth is, and then think about the consequences of actions. this is something that most politicians are more inclined to give you a sound bite than they are to think through the actual consequences of decisions that have to be made. this is true, whether we're fighting radical islamic or we're dealing with a traditional challenger, like russia or china. those are the things that we really have to take a much more realistic, pragmatic, and rather, frankly, a more cautious approach so that we can figure out what ground truth is before we decide to go out here and write checks that we can't cash. >> and sam, just very quickly on the debates, i'm getting a hard wrap here. but is it possible that donald trump is going to sit out those debates that conflict with nfl games? >> no, i think really renegotiate the dates and i think that will be solved and

mr. trump will partake and do extremely well in all the debates coming up. >> what if they don't renegotiate the dates? >> they'll renegotiate the dates. >> you feel confident about that. >> don't offer me a hypothetical. they'll renegotiate the dates. >> sam clovis, thank you very much for your perspective this morning. really appreciate it. >> you bet. coming up, the clinton campaign joins me live to respond to donald trump's real-time twitter rant this morning, claiming he is the one under attack by gold star parents, khazir khan. >> and "the washington post" track checker. stay with us. (lionel) ♪it's peyton... ♪it's peyton on sunday mornings.♪ (peyton) you know with directv nfl sunday ticket you can watch your favorite team no matter where you live. like broncos or colts. (cashier) cool. (peyton) ah...18. the old number. ooh. i have got a coupon for that one.

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does -- the khan family an apology? he is the one running for president here. they are not.

>> well, i'm -- i work in the contain, and i think mr. trump is -- has clearly had the calculation here that he is fighting back. this is normal for this. i think that a lot of the turmoil that you bring up, and i'm not trying to downplay it. i think is what happens. a lot of this is the dustup we see inside the beltway or inside the new york media circles. i think what really matters is what the american people think, and i think that's a long ways from being resolved. >> and that was the trump campaign, just moments ago, on the controversy involving donald trump and the family of a fallen soldier. i'm joined now by joel benenson with the clinton campaign. thank you so much for being here this morning. >> thanks for having me, kristen. >> let me get your reaction to what you just heard. you have gold star familieses saying that donald trump owes the khan family an apology. he's not apologizing. >> well, you know, he's got a history of maligning people, including republicans all through his primaries and never apologizing. i think this man, donald trump,

has no filter. he tries to paint people with the most negative brush possible, and that's why he's viewed as the most divisive candidate in history. and i think you've now got republicans like john mccain, who he also -- whom he also criticized and said wasn't a hero. you know, saying that, you know, he doesn't speak for the republican party. that is astonishing, to have a respected republican war hero and veteran like john mccain saying no one should mistake donald trump's views for the views of the republican party. we'll see if more republicans do that today. i think sam clovis is trying to put the best face on it, but unfortunately, it's donald trump who made this a political issue throughout his campaign. it was a centerpiece of his campaign. banning muslims, building a wall, calling mexicans rapists is and drug dealers. maligning an american judge because of his mexican heritage. the american people have seen and heard enough of this, i think. and they -- as maya angelou

said, when a person shows you who they are, believe them. and i think the american people now fully believe and understand who donald trump is. >> let me switch over to the controversy that continues to overshadow your campaign which is, of course, secretary clinton's e-mail. she was asked about it on fox news sunday. i want to play you her response and then we'll talk about it on the other side. >> sure. >> director comey said that my answers were truthful and what i've said is consistent with what i have told the american people. it is certainly not anything that i ever would do again. i take classification seriously. i relied on and had every reason to rely on the judgments of the professionals with whom i worked. >> well the "washington post" fact checker giving her four pin yokos for that answer. is she making a misstep here by saying, look, i made a mistake, it's my fault, rather than trying to parse words here.

>> i think the fact-checker has failed on this one and go back and look at what director comey said before congress the next day. after the state department clarified that there were three e-mails in question, and none of them contained markings that indicated that they were at the time they were sent or received, classified. so i think this is -- you know, going over old territory. people should go back and read the congressional testimony. the fact here is, hillary clinton said over a year ago that using her own e-mails was a mistake. she apologized for it. we are now ten weeks from an election, where the american people want to know, between hillary clinton and donald trump, which one of these people is going to create an economy that works for everyone. which one has what it takes to be commander in chief and keep us safe both at home and working with our allies around the world. that's the debate we're having. and every day donald trump shows himself to be temperamentally unfit to be president and especially commander in chief. we have a man who is maligning

the family and accusing them now tod today. >> i want to go back to the e-mails. >> his son killed in the war. >> let me just read what the "washington post" says. he said although the e-mails were classified, there were some e-mails that were already classified that should not have been sent on an unclassified private server. that's the uncomfortable truth that clinton has trouble admitting. >> i think you're reading from a report, kristen -- i hate to interrupt you. but i think you should wait another 24 hours, because you've got to go back and look at what mr. comey said when he was questioned on friday, before congress. the state department -- >> and i heard what he said. right. and he said that there were fewer than he initially laid out. >> there weren't any. >> the broader question is, joel, did these types of answers feed into voters' mistrust of her. >> no, i think your questions are erroneously feeding into that kristen. you've got to look at his testimony.

he definitely said no. they did not contain markings that a reasonable person would indicate to them that these things were classified at the time they were sent or received. >> well, and the counter to that is that -- you say a reasonable person. she was secretary of state, and so the implication there is also that she -- >> no, kristen, excuse me. he was talking about people in the state department who are trained to recognize the classic markings of classified information. you know, we can debate your questions all you want. but i would say, go back to director comey's democrtestimon following day before congress under oath. >> let me talk to you about this weekend. secretary clinton and tim kaine campaigning in ohio, pennsylvania, two key battleground states, trying to win over white working class voters, white men. right now donald trump beats her by a margin of 2-1 when it comes to white men. what does she need to do to win them over and does she risk not focusing enough on the obama coalition? who she really needs to win?

>> look, we said from the beginning, we're going to campaign hard to earn every vote that we can earn. that's going to include going all over the country. it's going to include going to rural areas, suburban areas, and urban areas. and it is going to include building on the coalition that has helped democrats win in five out of the last six elections. you know, kristen, you and i and many other journalists went through this during the primaries. you can't pick out one group and say she is doing poorly with this group. what you have to do is look at the totality of how you perform. with every group out there. there are different people. there are white men, there are white college-educated men, white noncollege men, white college-educated women, there are african-americans and latinos. you have to put together a map fighting hard for every vote that gets you to a road map to get to 50% plus one. that's what we're working very hard to do. we believe that hillary clinton is the only candidate here who has a real plan to help working

class people who are desperate to get ahead and stay ahead with plans that are concrete that she has laid out. how she would create 10 million jobs in her administration. how she would make sure that their children get the education they need so they can compete and get jobs in a 21st century economy. and from donald trump, we haven't seen a single proposal. he's offered nothing. he has no blueprint. he has no plans. she does, and she's telling people how she is going to get it done and how she will make a difference in their lives. >> and joel, just very quickly. we're running out of time. but this issue over the debates, donald trump says they shouldn't be held, two of them scheduled during nfl games. does he have a point, and you also heard sam clovis say he thinks the dates of the debates are going to change. is that your understanding? do you think that's a possibility? >> you know, what trump is showing, he knows as little about debates and presidential campaigns as he does about russia invading the ukraine and crim crimea. and he also yesterday claimed he got a letter from the nfl, which

they completely denied. i mean, he just completely misrepresented that. every election since the '70s, there have been debates. there have been conflicts with nfl games or world series games. and the debates go on. if this is a reduce ruse to try and wiggle of the debates which i suspect donald trump might be doing, given how exposed he is on his lack of knowledge, i think that's not going to happen. the debate commission has done this. i've been through four -- this is my fourth presidential election. there are always conflicts the debate commission has said that the nfl has said that. he doesn't get to dictate the dates of the debate in a presidential campaign. and it won't happen. the debates will take place on the dates that the commission has said, just as they have done for four decades. >> all right. joel bennett from the clinton campaign, thank you for your perspective. really appreciate it. >> thank you. coming up, two people killed, more than 100 rescued after an entire month's worth of rain swamped elket county,

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their cars when flash floodwaters roared through town, catching many by surprise. residents watching helplessly as the town gets destroyed. >> get inside! >> reporter: two people reported dead, swept away by rushing water. over 100 rescued. >> come on! >> reporter: this video shows residents creating a human chain to save a woman trapped in her car. the floodwaters receded quickly, but the damage in the town of ellicott city, grim. cars stacked on top of one other. streets ripped apart. >> it looks like a set from a disaster movie. >> reporter: businesses on main street completely destroyed. >> it's devastating to see some of the businesses that are totally gone. totally gone. like, i don't even know where to start. >> reporter: the governor declaring a state of emergency. >> i just want to come and hug people and let them know that we're all going to be with them and we're going to help them get

back to normal. >> reporter: this historic town was built in 1772, and here's the problem. it was built on top of the river. that river rose 90 inches -- i'm sorry, 14 feet in just 90 minutes. kristen? >> community still reeling. tammy leitner, thank you and for your reporting over the weekend. coming up, the trump campaign's russian connection you may not have heard about and why it makes his gaffe over the weekend even more surprising. stay with us. one coat, yes! ♪ there is a day, for every number. ♪ ♪ there is a time, for all my slumbers. ♪ ♪ and i can see, that i can't run and hide. ♪ one coat guaranteed marquee interior. behr's most advanced paint.

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that was two -- >> that was the final straw for you? >> it was the straw for me. >> to you hope other members of your party do what you're doing now? >> i do. i think we should send a strong message to the donald that racism and bigotry will not be tolerated. >> the party came out and said

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mosh one problem for the trump campaign on these ukraine issues. let's start with the language that is in the current platform. i will read it to you. it says, we also support providing appropriate assistance to the arms forces of ukraine, and greater coordination with nato defense planning. the issue there is the language appropriate assistance, that is essentially watered down, according to republicans who worked on the committee and say they wanted initially language that had been proposed that would have been, quote, unquote, stronger and involved the direct military assistance reference. then you have some back and forth on this, as you mentioned. we'll play sound of the campaign manager, paul manafort, denying some of this, as well the other sound on ukraine from donald trump himself, getting so much attention. take a listen. >> there's been some controversy about something in the republican party platform that essentially changed the republican party's views when it comes to ukraine. how much influence did you have on changing that language, sir? >> i had none. in fact, i didn't even hear of it until -- after our convention

was over. >> he's not going into ukraine, okay? just so you understand. he's not going to go into ukraine. all right? you can mark it down, you can put it down, you can -- >> he's already there, isn't he? >> well, he's there in a certain way, but you have obama there. and frankly, that whole part of the world is a mess under obama. with all the strength that you're talking about, and all of the power of nato and all of this. >> that exchange, though, is remarkable for its apparent lack of knowledge on trump's part, that there is, of course, russian involvement directly in ukraine and he tries to clean it up here with a new tweet today. what i said in the interview, i am saying, if i am president already in crimea, again, on the facts there, we can explain what he's trying to do is reference the fact that there is russian forces in crimea. an area that they have annexed. again, a simple use of the present tense versus the past tense versus the future tense is all you need to fact-check. you watch the video, he said

himself that they weren't in ukraine and they were, so i think that's pretty clear. i will also finally put up a legal point here. there isn't a lot of dispute about whether or not they're in ukraine. in fact, the u.n. had a resolution back in 2014 calling on states to desist and refrain from actions aimed at partial or total disruption of territorial integrity of ukraine. that's an international body there under international lawing, referring to the fact that yes as we know as we remember from covering it, russia did enter ukraine. >> ari melber, for breaking that down for us, appreciate it. thanks. >> you bet. and under pressure, tension mrs. on top republicans to take a stand, not just in favor of kaz are khan. more on that when we come back. isn't it time to let the real you shine through? introducing otezla (apremilast). otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently.

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nominee is not apologizing, in fact, tweeting that it's the family who continues to viciously attack him. i'm joined now by daily mail white house conte, francessca chambers and ely stokels. thanks for being here. i appreciate it. francessca, i want to start with you. donald trump has survived so many controversies, and, in fact, a lot of times we see his poll numbers go up from john mccain to the judge. but this somehow feels different. in part because he's now a general election candidate. do you think this time could actually have an impact? >> well, i think it's interesting, if you go back to the interview that you just did with sam clovis, with him saying don't look at the polling until after labor at a. it almost seemed to suggest that they expect that there could be a dip in the polling for donald trump after this incident, and they're saying that this polling isn't what you should be looking at, it's not close enough to the election. but this was the talk of reporters who were speaking to secretary clinton yesterday, was this incident with mr. khan and

whether the clinton campaign thinks this is a turning point in the election. and whether or not it will have legs going forward. and hillary clinton made the argument this is what she has been saying all along. donald trump is temperament the three unfit to be president and this is just the latest evident of that. >> eli, break down the reaction from the republican establishment from mitch mcconnell to john mccain, lindsey graham, paul ryan. they're all condemning -- i should say, they're expressing their support for the khan family, without really saying, look, we're retracting our endorsement of donald trump. how sticky of a situation are they in right now? >> pretty sticky. there is a lot of cognitive dissonance that requires to do that, to continue to condemn things donald trump says and yet continue to support him. that's what most mainstream republicans are doing, even john mccain. now, there are some who are sort of in hiding who don't want to take any position on this, and that's really understandable. but this continues to put republicans in a bind. and they are really stuck with this nominee. a lot of folks are frustrated.

they say he's kind of like one of these quarterbacks who has got a million-dollar arm and ten-cent head and keeps going out on the field and interrogatory interceptions, and you can't win that way. there are a lot of frustrations in republican circles. this is a guy who they know refuses to apologize. the only thing that will make this really go away is for donald trump to do what -- to this point has been unable to do with anyone, and that is to say i'm sorry. >> well, as francessca and i were just discussing, this feels different because it's a general election. do you think this time could actually hurt him in a significant way? francessca raised the point about the polling, that the trump campaign is almost bracing for the polls to go down. >> i think possibly. paul manafort on the first morning of the rnc all we have to do is convince americans that they can see donald trump believably as president. they can see him behind the desk and this election is over. this is not getting that done. and so while donald trump support, his base of support is

pretty hard and i think they're going to dismiss a lot of this criticism, the voters he needs to really tip this election have to be looking at this, and i can't see it helping donald trump in any way. >> and francessca, let's divinto the polls. we are getting our first glimpse of the post convention polling. it shows secretary clinton with a small bounce. she now leads donald trump by seven points nationally. what is the clinton campaign saying about this polling? it obviously is still before labor day so a lot could change. >> well, the clinton campaign knows the state by state is what you have to look at here. that's why they're spending a lot of time in ohio and pennsylvania, two key battleground states. that hillary clinton absolutely has to win in order to be able to win this election. so you continue to see her in those battleground states the rest of this week. she'll be going to colorado, she has has an event in nephew she would be doing. i wouldn't be surprised if we found ourselves back in ohio

with hillary clinton as well. >> thanks to both of you for a great conversation, really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thanks again. and coming up, what we know about the final moments before a texas hot air balloon burst into flames, killing all 16 people on board. we're live with the latest on the investigation, including a new call for tighter regulations. stay with us. ther one. i have an orc-o-gram for an "owen." that's me. ♪ you should hire stacy drew. ♪ ♪ she wants to change the world with you. ♪ ♪ she can program jet engines to talk and such. ♪ ♪ her biggest weakness is she cares too much. ♪ thank you. my friend really wants a job at ge. mine too. ♪ i'm a wise elf from a far off shire. ♪ and sanjay patel is who you should hire. ♪ thank you. seriously though, stacy went to a great school and she's really loyal. you should give her a shot. sanjay's a team player and uh... right. in. your. stomach! watch this!... >>yikes, that ice cream was messing with you, wasn't it? try lactaid, it's real ice cream, without that annoying lactose.

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federal authorities are looking into whether a collision with power lines caused that tragic hot air plan crash in texas over the weekend, killing all 16 people on board. nbc's janet shamlian is in lockhart, texas, with the latest. janet, what is the latest on the investigation today? >> reporter: kristen, good morning to you. the ntsb now confirming that, in fact, the balloon did hit those lines. they're 170 feet tall, before it crashed to the ground. it had only traveled eight miles from a nearby air field. the question really for them now is, did it ever maintain an altitude that you would usually see a balloon at? or was it for those entire eight

miles at this low altitude? and if so, what was the problem? to that end, today the ntsb says it will be questioning three members of the ground crew, including the balloon's mechanic. representatives spoke to them informally on saturday, but a more formal interview will happen today and they're hoping to get some answers on that. in terms of the physical investigation here, the ntsb says it is sort of wrapping things up. not the investigation, but what's happening on-scene here. they will be moving the wreckage of the basket to a secure location in dallas later today. they will be continuing to look at that evidence. we're also learning more today, kristen, about the victims. as you imagine, these stories are just heart breaking. among them, a newly married couple from san antonio, rowan and sunday -- they were married in february. this was a gift certificate they had been given for their wedding, had been rescheduled a number of times.

matt rowan texting pictures to friends up until 12 minutes before the balloon went down. all of this raising questions about the safety of hot air balloons, kristen. this is the 60th accident since 2011. five of those accidents have resulted in seven deaths. kristen, back to you. >> just so incredibly tragic. all right, janet shamlian, thank you for that report. really appreciate it. donald trump is banking on colorado's conservative christian stronghold. but how do evangelicals feel about trump? coming up, our jacob soboroff joins me live. and played gigs from new york to miami. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing,

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states that could make or break the election for either candidate. jacob soboroff went around the colorado springs area as a part of his up for grabs series where he visits people and places who could ultimately decide the election. we were talking about colorado, colorado springs on friday when we did road warriors. and its importance. what did you find out? >> kristen, no secret that donald trump or no coincidence that donald trump showed up in colorado as one of his first campaign stops coming out of the republican convention. he obviously wants to steal this state from democrats. and like we talked about on friday, in order to do that, he is going to need to win the colorado springs area, because it is home to a large conservative population of evangelical christians, focus on the family is headquartered there, as well as the new life evangelical mega church. we have all heard donald trump say evangelicals love me, but the big question is, do they really? i met up with the pastor of that evangelical mega church, and he told me things aren't looking so good for donald trump there. take a look. >> thousands of evangelical

christians that worship inside this building are going to play a huge role in deciding who wins colorado in the 2016 election. there is one guy they listen to more than anybody else and that is who i'm here to see. where are we, pastor brady? >> this is our auditorium, where new life gathers every sunday, full of people worshipping, studying the scriptures together. up until this election, el paso county has been a republican stronghold. but this year, i don't think either party can count on el paso county in their back pocket right now. >> reporter: that's a pretty amazing thing to hear you say. why do you think this is a swing congregation, a swing city, colorado springs, this time around? >> i think not only in colorado springs, but i think around the nation, evangelicals are caught between the two parties right now. on the one side, i think traditional conservative voters are always going to vote pro life. they tend to hold a traditional view of marriage. which puts them at odds with some of the republican -- i

mean, democratic, progressive voices. but at the same time, i am grateful that more and more conservative evangelical voters are now beginning to understand the plight of the immigrant. >> reporter: can i stop you for one second? >> yeah. >> reporter: donald trump doesn't seem to be in line with what you are saying. >> that's what puts us at odds. when he says he's going to deport 11 million people. we're thinking about our brothers and sisters. we're thinking about people who actually attend church with us, who lived here 20 years, undocumented, they have families here, run businesses here, not in trouble with the law. they are members of our church. >> reporter: so are you telling me there is a chance hillary clinton could win over some of your parishioners here? >> no, i don't think that, because her views are so progressive and liberal to many of the voters who -- but i think what happens, people may stay home. >> reporter: in that case, that means hillary clinton wins colorado. >> exactly. we don't have the option not to vote. we have to vote our conviction.

and so it's literally going to be a hold your nose vote. >> kristen, i met with pastor boyd before going to both conventions, and he told me he watched them both very closely and he told me nothing that happened there, including the few that donald trump is in right now with the khan family has changed how he feels. in fact, he said that controversy has reinforced how he feels about donald trump. i also asked him if he went to the colorado springs event with donald trump on friday and he said no, he didn't. he decided to mow his lawn instead. >> what a fascinating conversation, particularly the part about the undocumented immigrants. jacob soboroff, i'm excited about this new series. thank you, my friend. appreciate it. and that wraps up this hour of msnbc live. i'll see you back here at 5:00 p.m. eastern. tamron hall picks up coverage now. developing now on msnbc, gold star parents take on donald trump. the new demand from families of fallen soldiers for trump to apologize for comments about a muslim-american soldier killed

in iraq. now senator john mccain is jumping into this fight. and debating the debate schedule. trump and the rnc complained two debates are on the same night with two nfl games with trump claiming the nfl reached out to him with their concerns. a claim the nfl denies. and we have new comments from the nonpartisan commission behind the debate schedule. plus, washed away. some terrifying scenes and dangerous rescues as water floods a maryland town, the worst, by the way, in half a century. and now more storms in the forecast. good morning, everyone. tamron hall live from our msnbc headquarters in new york. developing now, senator john mccain doing what no other republican leader has dared to do, slamming donald trump by name over his comments about the parents of captain khan, killed in iraq in 2004. lengthy statement released this morning by senator mccain says in,